Harry’s the Boy wand-er on World Book Day Again

eBay.co.uk reveals Harry Potter tops the character ranking for fourth year running

With World Book Day set to hit schools across the country on 1st March, eBay.co.uk has revealed Harry Potter has topped its World Book Day character ranking for the fourth year running, with a staggering 35 searches per minute, well ahead of his nearest rival Dorothy who comes second with 14 searches per minute.[1]

With nearly 700,000 current listings for ‘Harry Potter’ on eBay[2], and products ranging from chess sets to chocolate frogs, the online marketplace has found that the ‘Boy Wand-er’ is the character most likely to appear at the school gates. Ranking newcomer Dorothy rises over the rainbow with products ranging from ruby red slippers to Toto teddies, and makes a surprise appearance in second place, ahead of Peter Rabbit who burrows into third place ahead of the new film next month, with nearly 500 searches an hour – that’s the equivalent of eight searches per minute for the loveable bunny.[3]

Alice in Wonderland falls down the rabbit hole into fourth place, with more than six searches per minute, with Peter Pan flying past the second star to the right and straight onto fifth place with nearly 150 searches per hour.

eBay World Book Day Character ranking

1. Harry Potter

2. Dorothy

3. Peter Rabbit

4. Alice in Wonderland

5. Peter Pan

With nearly 7,000 searches for ‘World Book Day’ on eBay in 2018 alone, it’s clear that parents have already been busy gathering inspiration and materials for that perfect costume ahead of the big day.[4]

The original disruptor of the e-commerce world, eBay has come of age – but it’s still shaking up traditional retail with a global marketplace that welcomes big brands, empowers entrepreneurs and serves 23.5 million customers a month in the UK alone.

Market

eBay was the first online marketplace. Today, it’s a household name. A regular feature in lists of best loved brands, it connects millions of buyers and sellers, helping customers to find the item they’re looking for from its 1.1 billion listings.

With buyers in 190 markets, trade is fast. The UK website sells a car part every second, and searches for must-have items, like 2017’s fidget spinner, regularly top fifty searches a second.

This incredible interest directly benefits the small businesses who trade on eBay, giving them access to an audience once unthinkable for a small shop on the high street.

Product

Whether an item is new or nearly new, luxurious or rare, fashionable or one-of-a-kind, it is probably for sale on eBay.co.uk. The brand’s mission is to be the place where the world shops first, and a continued focus on its powerful search – including image recognition and voice control through Google Home - gives power to that promise.

While eBay remains true to its marketplace roots, 88% of the items for sale on eBay are now offered at a fixed price and 81% are brand new. The UK’s big retail brands also continue to gravitate towards the marketplace, setting up their own eBay stores to be where British consumers are shopping.

All sellers on eBay benefit from one of the most popular mobile apps in the market – downloaded more than 380 million times and counting – along with a ready-made web presence that is fast, mobile and secure.

Achievements

Throughout its history, eBay has helped many thousands of small businesses to succeed. Small British firms regularly rank in the top five grossing sellers on eBay.co.uk’s biggest trading days like Black Friday, and over a thousand British sellers who started with a shop on eBay are now running million pound businesses, providing jobs to people in their communities.

By partnering with sellers in this way, eBay.co.uk has helped hundreds of thousands of British entrepreneurs over its 22 year history. As a hub of retail in the UK, the marketplace also continues to welcome top brands to the site – including Currys, Halfords, GoPro, Canon, Boohoo and more.

eBay also makes it easy for customers to give to charitable organisations. Using eBay for Charity, sellers can donate a portion of their sales and buyers can shop while supporting their favourite causes – adding to the funds that eBay.co.uk has raised for UK charities to date.

Recent developments

With a wealth of ‘firsts’ to its name, eBay remains at the forefront of online retail. The marketplace created one of the first-ever mobile apps, and today over 60% of international buyers shop on eBay through their mobile device, putting the products of small businesses directly into the hands of consumers whenever they want to shop.

Fast forward to 2017 and eBay is still driving new developments: artificial intelligence, the ability to search from a photograph and the world’s first virtual reality department store experience to name a few. Innovating in mobile has also meant an expansion into social media, a natural partner to the marketplace. eBay.co.uk’s Mother’s Day Snapchat lens was one of the most popular filters of 2017 and a new generation of customers are finding deals through this medium.

Promotion

In autumn 2017, eBay’s Fill Your Cart With Colour campaign launched in the UK and around the world. Advertising ran across all channels, mirroring the offering of the eBay marketplace; encouraging shoppers to celebrate their individual passions and shopping ‘like nobody else’ – something the brand says is possible only on eBay thanks to its unrivalled choice.

For Christmas 2017 eBay brought the campaign to central London, with a range of UK influencers to bring the brand to life. eBay was also the first to invest in mood advertising – ads with the ability to react instantly to the mood of consumers – on the iconic screens of Piccadilly Circus.

eBay regularly partners with other high profile brands who understand the power of the marketplace in bringing products to life. In late 2017 eBay once again joined forces with Disney ahead of the much-anticipated release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The brand’s dedicated Star Wars Hub (ebay.co.uk/starwars) featured more than 12,000 pieces of official merchandise and sold a lightsaber every 15 minutes. It is one of a range of product hubs built for brands including Dyson, Canon and GoPro, and sits alongside specialist categories including physical media, Curve clothing and newly added wine and beer categories.